German exchange students finds CON ‘excellent’

Jennifer Graetz

When Jennifer Graetz walked down the halls of the Kearney division of the College of Nursing this past fall, most of the students knew her. That’s because she’d been visiting every class at the college since she arrived in August.

Graetz was an exchange student from Cologne, Germany. The graduate program in Germany includes four years and allowed her to spend a year in the United States. After completing the four-year program, she will be a “Diplom- Pflegepädagogin” or in English, diploma nursing teacher.

Graetz said she was impressed by what she saw during her visit to the United States.

“Nothing is impossible in the nursing area in the U.S.A.,” she said.

The practical lessons are very different in the two countries, she said.

“In Germany, the nursing students work directly with a nurse,” Graetz said. “In America, the nursing instructor trains with the nursing students for the care of the patient.”

Graetz said the field of nursing in America is also different. The main reason, she said, is the difference in the health system, Germany has the social framework and America has Medicaid and Medicare.

“My inside view of the occupational area shows me how multifaceted the nursing structure is in America,” she said. “During my study and in my career, I can give the nursing students and the nurses in Germany a very good inside look and information about the training of nursing students, the work of the nurses and the system of health in America. I’m very thankful to the college for this very exciting semester and I would do it again!”